Another example that portrays the double-edged sword of the love of flight is the poem “High Flight” by aviator poet John Gillepsie. He wrote the now famous poem a few months before he died at the age of 19 following a midair collision between his Spitfire and a training aircraft. The collision occurred at a low altitude of 1400’, and the pilots were unable to exit their aircraft before impact. Both were killed.

Musician and pilot John Denver once set this poem to music, and I find it to be one of the most profoundly moving songs I have ever heard. Sadly, John Denver died while piloting an experimental aircraft after this song was released.